Sustainability may be the buzzword of the decade, but Indian Moms have been sustainability queens way before the movement ever started. Mothers, grandmothers and generations before them have all struggled to reduce waste at home, maximise the utility of items (we know, most moms can also weaponise innocuous home items 😋), and do what is right instead of what is just convenient. All for the sake of the health of the family and the planet.
Here are a few underappreciated things that our mothers do, which are now catching on-trend
1. Why throw away future storage boxes?:
We’ve all fallen prey to this, when we’ve tried reaching out for a cookie, only to be disappointed to find sui dhaga (threads & needles). Always reuse and upcycle even the packaging materials before trashing them! Thanks mom for the pro tip. Don’t be alarmed if you find dish soap in my chavanprash bottle. 😅😂
2. Old clothes can be so much more:
With Indian moms, our clothes are like cats
they have 9 lives! You will rarely see your mother throwing out an old cloth. Indian moms invented “sustainable fashion” before it was cool! From upcycling old curtains to making a pillow cover from their old saree, they’ve done it all. Some of our favourite dresses have been made from moms old sarees!
3. It’s never a leftover:
Indian moms simply do not believe that food can be thrown. Not a grain remains and if it does, she would still whip up something amazing with it for breakfast the next day, or find a way to give it to someone in need. Remember Ross’ leftover thanksgiving sandwich? nom nom nom! Tell us your favourite leftover recipe in the comments!
4. Mothers and “Dabba” - an eternal love story:
We know how much our moms love their boxes. They have a dedicated drawer in the kitchen to collect all the packaging boxes from different restaurants and reuse them whenever they are needed.
5. Hand me downs to the rescue!:
If you’ve got siblings or cousins, you surely have worn their old clothes at one point in time. Moms do know how to store the clothes that we don’t fit into anymore and pass them down to our siblings/cousins. Dads baggy T-Shirts with belts anyone?
Mothers play a pivotal role in most of our lives, as our first teachers! As kids, we learn social interaction, habits, and mannerisms from our parents. To be fair, kids pick up a lot over the years, and the habits our mothers inculcate, grow with you!
To quote someone - everyone eventually turns into their mother! And we contest, that maybe that's not such a bad idea. Give your mothers a chance to speak up and out and learn the logic of doing small things that make a lasting difference from her humble wisdom. ❤️